SIFF: The Winter

Description

Argentina | 2016 | 98 minutes | Emiliano Torres

An aging, resentful ranch foreman discovers that he is being replaced by a younger man, leading to a violent confrontation amid an unforgiving winter, in this visceral thriller whose award-winning cinematography strikingly captures the windswept wilds of Patagonia.

Knowing little of life other than the workings of a vast Patagonian sheep ranch, weathered foreman Evans (Alejandro Sieveking, The Club) has his world upended after being replaced by talented young upstart Jara (Cristian Salguero, Paulina). Eager to prove his worth to an indifferent landowner and make a home for his wife and child, Jara easily proves his worth yet finds himself totally unprepared for the realities of an unforgiving winter, while an embittered Evans quietly plots a violent takeover of his former homestead, leading to a visceral fight to the death as nature rages around them in this austere and stunning thriller. In the tradition of the defining works of Hemingway and London, Emiliano Torres’ first film as director is a lean, muscular tale of survival against the unforgiving forces of both nature and man himself. Winner of both the Special Jury Award and the Jury Award for Best Cinematography at the 2016 San Sebastian Film Festival, The Winter takes its place among the classic tales of man’s struggle for control against nature and for his own destiny.

Director Biography: Emiliano Torres has been working as an assistant director since the 1990s. Some of his projects include Garage Olimpo (1999), Golden Door (2006), and Terraferma (2011). The Winter is his first feature-length film as the primary director, which he also wrote.

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Genre Tags: Film